Inheriting a Call Sign from My Living Father

Member

About 4-5 years ago my father, a ham for years, sadly reached the age he couldn't operate any longer. I recently became licensed and discovered that he'd like me to inherit his call sign. He has what I'd consider a good call sign so I'd like to have it, and the sooner the better, before I get too use to the less-appealing one I was assigned.

In studying this a little it wasn't clear what I'm wanting to do can be done. I see that inheriting my father's call sign if my father passes away is relatively straight forward. My question is, is there a way to inherit it while he is yet living?

Member

To be clear, you can not "inherit" a call sign. Call signs are issued by the FCC and they are the only ones that can assign or re-assign a call sign.

Your father could surrender his license while he is living but it would not go into the vanity pool for 2 years and there is no guarantee you would get it.

§97.19 Application for a vanity call sign.
(2) A call sign shown on a surrendered or canceled license grant (except for a license grant that is canceled pursuant to §97.31) is not available to the vanity call sign system for 2 years following the date such action is taken. (The availability of a call sign shown on a license canceled pursuant to §97.31 is governed by paragraph (c)(3) of this section.)

The exception mentioned above is §97.31 which says that AFTER his death (you have to send in proof to the FCC), his call sign immediately becomes available to family members (spouse, child, grandchild, stepchild, parent, grandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or in-law) provided that you already have a valid license of the same or higher class as your father.

IOW, if you father is an Extra, you have to be an Extra to get his call sign. Also, if your father is an Advanced, this also means you have to be an Extra because Advanced licenses are no longer being issued and the Extra is the only license class higher than Advanced.

Member

Thanks Scott. That was perfectly clear, just not the answer I wanted to hear. From my researching I was beginning to believe what you said was the case, just wasn't sure and hoping I was wrong. I suppose there's a good reason the FCC doesn't allow the surrendering of a call sign to a close relative but it would seem a fair thing to do in my mind.